The ongoing development of high-frequency signal processing, particularly in the telecommunication area, strives for a higher level of integration. These integrated circuits may comprise a complete high-frequency transmitter or receiver, respectively, including an HF-section to convert a base band signal onto an RF carrier. Such transceivers may support a multi-mode ability which allows using different kinds of mobile communication standards. Flexibility of such a solution is improved and the required chip space can be reduced. Such communication standards, for example, may include the 2.5th generation standards like GSM (General Systems for Mobile), GPRS, or EDGE. More recent developed communication standards, the 3rd Generation (3G), includes the standard WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) also called UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System). For transmitting and receiving higher data rates, Fourth Generation (4G) communication standards may be used, including WLAN (Wireless LAN) or WIFI. The different standards use different modulation techniques and center frequencies for transmitting and receiving signals. The different and sometimes opposing requirements with respect to the different mobile communication standards result in higher chip size and power consumption of a multi-mode transceiver integrated circuit.
Consequently, there is a need to reduce the required chip size for integrated circuits capable of transmitting or receiving high-frequency signals.